


Friends in High Places

by Linguini



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Gen, airbisons to the rescue!, post ep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2020-01-01 07:17:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18331235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linguini/pseuds/Linguini
Summary: Sometimes, help comes from the least expected places.  Or, "How Lin Beifong became the first earthbender with an airbison."





	Friends in High Places

**Author's Note:**

> Set in the time between "Turning the Tides" and "Endgame," where no one knows (or seems to care) where Lin is or what's happened to her. This is the result of a conversation on the Kyalin Discord server. A million thanks to Mercurialmind for encouragement and reassurance and to kyabeifongx for medical advice (over and over and over and over again).

The next time Lin opens her eyes, the sky is growing light again, and that damned rain is _still_ pattering on the rock outside the cave.  Every inch of her aches, with some parts (her ribs, her head, her knee) edging more towards agony  With a small deep breath, Lin leans back against the wall and girds herself for another day of tedious work.

**** **Up.**

**** With a muffled groan, Lin forces herself to slide over to divot she’d dug out to catch the dripping water from the roof of the cave, waiting long enough to move for her head to stop swimming.  The water is brackish and tastes slightly of iron--a taste she welcomes as the only contact with metal she’s bound to have for a while. Two handfuls is all she can manage--an enormous effort with fingers made stiff and uncooperative from the combination of overexertion from digging into the hard rock and the cold.

 **** The watery light hasn’t quite reached her prison yet, not that she needs it.  She’d memorized the layout of the cave in the first ten minutes of her captivity, and now, on her fourth day, there is no bit of it she hasn’t seen.  Slowly, carefully, Lin maneuvers herself into position behind the last sparkstick, the one she’s been working on for what feels like a small eternity now.  The gap between this one and the edge of the cliff is larger, and there’s every chance she’ll be able to wriggle through. If she goes slowly enough. And if she’s not actually shocked.  Again.

 **** In all the years she has been coming to Air Island, Lin has never given particular attention to the composition of the mountains.  The rock here is solid, and even the days of rain have done nothing to soften the ground. With a small growl, Lin wraps both hands around the bottom of the sparkstick and presses forward as hard as she can, ignoring the crackling of pain that shoots up her spine.  When her energy fails her, more quickly than the previous 86 times she’s tried this, Lin shifts, arm wrapped around her middle, and pulls.

 **** Still the stick doesn’t move.

 **** Lin is so engrossed in her attempts to escape (and, truthfully, is so used to relying on her seismic sense to warn her if anyone approaches), that she doesn’t notice she’s not alone until there’s a crackle of electricity and a high-pitched yelp of pain.

 **** Without thinking, she pushes herself back from the lip of the cave, gasping when she falls back onto the ground.  The world goes grey around the edges, and for a long moment she’s convinced she’s going to pass out again. Somehow, she manages to hold on, and the world settles into focus again.

 **** Slowly, so so slowly, she eases herself up, just in time to see the young airbison nosing at the ground in front of the cave.  Lin shifts to sit as close as she can, slipping her arm through the gap between two sparksticks to push back at the wet fur. “Don’t do that,” she says, sharply enough that the airbison looks at her with its dark eyes for a long moment.  “You’ll get hurt.”

 **** A rough, wet tongue licking her palm is her only answer before the airbison moves away.  Lin’s not fast enough or near enough to keep the calf from snuffling around the edges of the sparksticks at the other end of the line of them.  “Stop it,” she urges, with as much authority as she can muster. But her voice is hoarse and weak, and what comes out is nothing like the orders that send criminals and officers alike quaking in their boots.

 **** The sharp zap followed by a whimper of pain is not unexpected, but that doesn’t keep her from feeling guilty.  “Go,” she says, shuffling painfully closer, arm wrapped around her middle as she scoots forward. “This isn’t a good place for you.  You’ll only get hurt.”

 **** The calf turns to look at her, and for a long moment, Lin is positive she’s won.  But then the airbison returns to her, and tries again. The shock this time seems to be the end of its patience, and with one last mournful huff, it’s gone.

 **** Lin breathes a sigh of relief, and tries to ignore the feeling of painful isolation that grips her chest.  She has reached the end of her stores of energy for the moment, and, not even bothering to move back into the shadows, curls up on the ground where she is and passes out again.

 **** She regains consciousness to the sound of a low grumble, and an accompanying crash that has the ground beneath her quaking.  The jostling sets her nerves on fire, and it’s a long, long moment before she realizes the world has gone still again. Blinking open dry, gritty eyes, Lin is surprised to see nothing but a haze of white.  And then suddenly, she’s wet again, gritting her teeth against the pain of jostled ribs.

 **** The white disappears, and when Lin’s vision clears, she sees the airbison from before again, this time with a friend.  A much bigger friend. A friend who is currently looking at her with dark eyes full of compassion. It takes a longer moment for her to realize the sparksticks are gone, and the entrance to the cave clear.

 **** “Thank you,” Lin manages.  The smaller of the airbison returns to her, licking her face gently.  Even that is enough to have her flinching in pain. As if in apology, it nuzzles her hand and steps back, leaving the way out clear.  

 **** It’s a matter of several minutes before Lin is able to push herself upright enough to stumble out of what has effectively been her prison for days now.  Every step is agony, which isn’t made better when she steps into the first real sunlight she’s seen in days. The splitting headache throbs in time with her knee, and she imagines she can feel the edges of her broken ribs rubbing together in her chest.

 **** Woozily, she reaches out a hand to rest on the craggy mountainside and nearly falls over when it’s much softer and warmer than she was expecting.  The older of the airbison (which she assumes must be the mother, based on how the younger one is nuzzling it) has moved to let Lin lean on it, and has folded herself on the ground in invitation for her to climb up.

 **** “I appreciate it,” Lin says regretfully.  “But there’s no way I can climb like this.”

 **** The airbison looks at her for a moment, then makes a sort of half grunt, half whuffle at the calf, who trots over happily and stops just downhill of Lin.  From here, she can see what they intend, and truly it would be much easier than climbing onto the back of a fully grown adult. But the calf is so young…

 **** “Thank you, but no.  My armor is very heavy--”

 **** She doesn’t even get a chance to finish her protest before the adult is gently guiding her closer.  Lin more trips than walks, and before she knows it, she’s lying on the calf’s back. Nothing moves for a while, then she feels a wet nose at the back of her neck.

 **** “‘M alright,” she mumbles into downy soft fur.  “Just...just stay still.” She lays there until her breathing settles, gathering her energy.  When she’s ready, just before she dozes off on the spot, she forces herself over onto her back.  The rough tongue returns to lick the back of her hand oh-so-gently. Weakly, she pats the nose and then fists her hands in the airbison’s fur beneath her.

 **** The takeoff is a bit wobbly, but not as bad as she expects, given prior experience.  It’s still as disconcerting as ever to be off the ground, though it’s basically the same feeling she’s had since Amon pressed his too-warm thumb to her forehead and stole from her what was most precious.  Ferociously, Lin shoves that thought away. _No sense in dwelling in the past_.  Instead, she forces herself to breathe deeply, eyes shut against the bright sun, until sleep steals over her once again.

 **** The landing is somewhat less graceful than the liftoff, and Lin is woken by the jarring.  She recognizes the buildings of Tenzin’s home immediately. A rush of adrenaline floods through her as she immediately scans for any sign of Equalists.  It takes great effort, but she forces herself off the side of the airbison, wincing as her feet hit the ground. But there are no running feet, no signs of the Equalists’ airships that had been tethered, no signs of anyone at all.

 **** Warily, Lin makes her slow way towards the main building, every sense on high alert.  ( _Not_ **_every_ ** _sense,_ her traitorous brain reminds her).  One of the airbison makes a loud, low rumbling call, and Lin winces.  “Quiet,” she rasps sharply, not bothering to turn around. Her strength is already waning, and every step takes intense concentration to focus the last of her energy.  She can’t even find enough to lift her head, too focused on climbing the stairs and finding something to defend herself with.

 **** After half a dozen steps, Lin’s ears start ringing, and another two has the world greying out at the edges.  Every inch of her trembles with strain, but it’s not long before she’s completely overwhelmed. The ringing grows louder.  The world swells in front of her eyes, reduces to a pinpoint, swells again. She falls to her knees, and wonders idly if it’s the same place she fell at Amon’s feet.

 **** This time, though, she lands against something soft and warm.  “Aunt Lin?” The voice is one she’s positive she should recognize, but her brain refuses to come up with a name.  The arms that hold her up are strong, but even they’re not enough as she feels herself slip through the grip. She’s unconscious before she hits the ground.

 **** Awareness returns slowly, like water trickling down the walls of the cave.  Without opening her eyes, Lin sighs and frowns. She’s had this dream before--escape or rescue or a miracle, reuniting with the people she likes best, the disappearance of pain, the return of her bending.  But every time, she wakes up to find it was just that--a dream. For just a moment, Lin allows herself the mercy of ignorance, before forcing dry, gritty eyes open.

 **** It’s not rock that greets her, not the smell of damp and sweat, or the sound of slowly dripping water.  The ceiling is plain white, and she’s lying on a bed. Cautiously, she tests her body, finding the odd itching sensation that usually accompanies an intense healing session.  Her ribs still ache fiercely, as does her head, but her knee feels practically normal.

 **** Before she can spend too much time stretching, the door opens and Kya steps in.  Lin’s chest grows tight in a completely different way than before, heart thumping in her chest as her eyes grow hot.  Resolutely, she forces her gaze to the ceiling, lest any of the tears that are threatening actually leak out.

 **** The bed dips at her hip, and a hand comes to rest on her cheek--a hand whose touch she recognizes, _would_ recognize anywhere--dragging her head down carefully.

 **** “Oh, _Lin_ ,” Kya sighs when their eyes meet, thumb sweeping along her cheekbone.  “What have you done to yourself this time?”

 **** It’s the same question she asks every time Lin has hurt herself and winds up needing Kya’s care, and yet this time, she can’t manage her usual flippancy.  Her throat grows tight, and she can’t help leaning the tiniest bit into Kya’s palm. “Amon,” is all she can manage, and she knows the instant the implication hits Kya.  Her thumb presses slightly harder into her cheekbone, fingers sweeping behind her ear, and Kya is bending down to kiss her.

 **** Somewhere behind her heart, a dam breaks, and all the emotions Lin has kept buried for those long, lonely days in the cave come rushing out:  guilt and anger and fear and sorrow. Kya shifts and wraps her arms carefully around Lin’s shoulders as Lin clings to her, silent tears tracking down her face.

 **** The maelstrom of emotion rages through Lin until she’s left, hollow and aching on the other side.  Her breath hitches painfully until Kya rests her hand on Lin’s chest. “Breathe,” she admonishes gently, taking slow, deliberate breaths that Lin copies unsteadily.  

 **** When her lungs have stopped spasming and her heart steadies, Lin lets her arms drop to the bed.  Her head aches, but she feels...cleaner somehow. Cleaner, and somehow flatter. “What’s happening?” she manages.  “Where is everyone? Where’s Amon?”

 **** “None of that,” Kya admonishes gently, reaching for the bowl of water on the bedside table.  She gathers it up and looks Lin over appraisingly. “What hurts most?”

 **** Lin pauses, assessing.  “Chest.”

 **** In actuality, her head is throbbing, but if Kya works on healing that, they won’t be able to talk, and Lin already has that uncomfortable prickle in the base of her spine that tells her she’s missing something important.  “Where is Amon?”

 **** Kya raises an eyebrow at her, but her hands never falter in their healing pattern.  “Gone. Korra revealed him to everyone, and he ran off.”

 **** That is nowhere near enough information for Lin, which she communicates with a raising of her eyebrow.  It is, as always, completely ineffectual on Kya. But some part of her must still hold pity, because she explains everything.  Between the warmth of the water and Kya’s familiar voice, Lin drifts off again halfway through the tale, sleeping until Jinora knocks on her door with dinner.

 **** “I didn’t think you’d want to come to the dining hall,” she explains softly.  “So I tried to make you a plate of things you like. Aunt Kya says to go slowly.”  She hands the plate to Lin and sets the mug of tea and a large glass of water on the bedside table.  “Also, if you feel up to it, there’s someone who would like to see you in the courtyard.”

 **** Lin frowns but thanks the girl.  The plate is indeed full of her favorite things:  sticky dumplings, firedragon chicken, spiced snap peas, pieces of mango and melon, and Lin hasn’t eaten for...the better part of 5 days, the best she can manage to remember.  But she can only manage a few bites of each before her stomach complains. She drinks the tea and feels slightly better for it--well enough to manage a trip to the courtyard.

 **** Walking there takes much longer than it has any right to, made all the more difficult by the fact that Lin is still wearing her armor, and she has to stop several times to rest leaning on the wall.  She perseveres, though, and finally is greeted by the fresh air of a moonlit night. There’s no one in the courtyard, and for a moment, she thinks she misunderstood the message.

 **** But then one of the shadows shifts, coalesces into a small, white, furry thing, and she can’t help but smile.  The young airbison lumbers up to her and licks the back of her hand carefully. Lin rests her other hand on its head, scratching behind the horn buds.  “Hello,” she says softly. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

 **** The airbison nudges her hand, and when she scratches its arrow, gives a small hum of approval.

 **** “Lin, meet Yunqi.”  Tenzin’s soft voice drifts over to her as if carried by the evening wind itself.

 **** Without moving her hand from Yunqi’s head, Lin turns to look at her old friend.  “We’ve met,” she says dryly, though not without a hint of fondness. She looks down at the shaggy head at her waist.  “Lucky, hmmm? You certainly were. Thank you for the rescue.”

 **** She can hear Tenzin shifting in place, and frowns as she looks back up at him.  

 **** “Lin--”  He stops, shifts again, and looks like nothing so much as an errant schoolboy caught doing something naughty--not that he ever wore that look when he was an _actual_ child.  “We had no--”

 **** Lin raises a hand, then drops it back to Yunqi’s head when he nudges her waist.  “You had more important things to worry about,” she says softly. “I understand. Don’t worry about it.  I’m fine.”

 **** Tenzin frowns at her, looking somewhat unconvinced but evidently decides to evade the topic altogether.  Instead, he nods at Lin’s new friend. “Looks like you’ve made a new friend.”

 **** “Yes,” Lin agrees, scratching her thumbnail at the base of Yunqi’s hornbuds.  “We seem to have taken a shine to each other.” She tilts her head, and can’t resist.  “Does this make me the first earthbender with their own airbison?”

 **** Usually, she knows, Tenzin would protest, cite some sort of ancient airbender tome that explains exactly why these sacred creatures are reserved for the truest of airheads.  Or something. But for the first time in a while, he surprises her and simply tilts his head slightly with the tiniest of smiles. “I suppose it does. Just remember that he’s an _air_ bison, and needs to actually learn to fly.”  

 **** Lin nods, a sharp retort buried somewhere beneath the exhaustion that rolls over her suddenly in a wave.  As if sensing it, Yunqi leans into her side and moves slowly towards the stairs leading back into the building.  

 **** “Alright, alright,” she says, and pats his side.  “I can take a hint.” Another quick scratch of his arrow.  “Good night, Yunqi. Sleep well.”

 **** Tenzin steps closer and offers her his arm, so she gives him a sharp glare.  “I’m _fine_ ,” she says, and walks pointedly up the stairs under her own power.  It doesn’t last long, however, and she wobbles when she reaches the top and her vision narrows.  Frustratingly, Tenzin is there with a hand at her elbow, and she’s forced to lean on him for the rest of the _incredibly long_ journey to her room.

 **** Kya meets them coming from the other direction, and Lin gratefully trades Tenzin’s arm for hers.  

 **** “Good night, Lin,” he says and gives her a fond look (and Kya a pointed one that he thinks Lin doesn’t see).

 **** Kya guides her back into her room, settles her on the bed and rests the bowl of water on the floor.  “Alright,” she says, kneeling in front of Lin. “Explain to me how to take this off.”

 **** Lin frowns down at her, but eventually catches her meaning, and between her fumbling hands and Kya’s rather more stable ones, they manage to divest Lin of her armor completely, leaving her in just her tanktop.  Kya undresses more quickly and slides into bed next to Lin. There’s a long moment of careful shifting before LIn finds a position that’s comfortable. Her ribs ache, but it’s worth it to be able to touch Kya’s skin, to smell the light scent of her soap, feel her breath puff against Lin’s hair.

 **** The exhaustion pulls at Lin, making her limbs heavy and her head light.  “I got an airbison,” she tells Kya sleepily. When she only presses a kiss to the top of Lin’s head with a curious little hum, she clarifies.  “His name is Yunqi and he saved my life.”

 **** “Yunqi Beifong?” Kya asks, and Lin is only just awake enough to catch the undercurrent of humor that runs through her voice.  “Tenzin must be having a fit.”

 **** Lin yawns, shifts closer to Kya’s warmth.  “Don’t care. He’s mine and I’m keeping him.”

 **** Kya spreads her hands along Lin’s spine, the small of her back, and settles against the pillows.  “Alright. Go to sleep. Yunqi will be waiting for you in the morning.”

 **** With a sigh, Lin nods, and lets herself drift off.

 **** For the first time in her life, she dreams not of the earth, but of flying.


End file.
